Jonas
๐ค SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
I checked every room again, opened the closet, looked under the cot, even checked behind the desk.
Not then.
No footprints in the dust.
No signs anyone was hiding.
I tried to tell myself I just missed someone earlier.
Maybe they slipped out, but it didn't track.
I would have heard them.
I stepped outside, and that's when I realized how quiet it was.
No birds.
No rustling.
Not even that usual wind sound through the pines.
Just stillness.
Flat and heavy.
Like the woods were holding their breath, too.
Then I saw the footprints.
They weren't mine.
They came in from the right side of the clearing bare feet.
No shoes, no tread.
Just long, narrow prints in the soft dirt.
Toe spread wide like someone had been standing there a while, watching the windows.